About Me
Playing with King by
Friday at the Chicago House of Blues
Hello Everyone,
Patrick Brenner here. I hope you all enjoy the instructional material presented on SteelGuitarAcademy.com The aim of the site is to be an all-in-one resource for the beginner steel guitarist. Anyway, a bit about myself:
I'm a truck driver from Illinois. I've been playing Pedal Steel Guitar since 2002 and I've been driving trucks since 2004.
Unfortunately, being on the road all the time keeps me from the steel a lot, but I still manage to find time to play with local bands.
Playing with the
Disregarded Stars at the Brat Stop in Kenosha, Wisconsin
Currently, I play with two local Western Swing groups. One is called Pearls Mahone, and the other is my own project called the Westerlees. I also occasionally play for the alt-country group, the Disregarded Stars. It's good fun. I'm always down to play with other bands as well if I can find the time, so send me an email if you're in a band in the Chicago or Milwaukee area and need some steel.
I also play other instruments as well - backing up bands with banjo, mandolin, guitar, accordion, piano and fiddle. Though the steel guitar is the one I'm most often "fiddling" with.
Playing with Pearls
Mahone at Martyrs in Chicago
I published a chord dictionary for the Pedal Steel Guitar in 2011. I have sold quite a few so far and the feedback has been very encouraging. It's up for sale on this site and on ebay, so check it out. I put a lot of work into it and I think it really came together nicely.
You also may want to pick up the scale dictionary. I finished it in 2013. It is comprehensive, including thousands of scales. Primary scales are all in there with all their modal variations as well. Some of the scales included are the diatonic (major, minor, etc), the country and blues scales, the harmonic and melodic minors, the enigmatic, various asian and indian scales, and many exotic scales. This dictionary really has every scale you will ever need to play in any genre of music. Check it out.
If you live in the Chicago or Milwaukee area, you can take private lessons from me.
If you are not in the Chicago area, you may want to try Skype video lessons too:
I should have more instructional materials coming out soon so check back here often.
Playing with Pearls Mahone at the Muddy Roots festival in Cookeville, Tennessee
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Here are some links to some of the bands I have been working with recently:
The Westerlees
Gin Palace Jesters
Gin Palace Jesters is a Chicago-based country and western group that plays mostly 1950s and 1960s era music
and also originals in the style of that era. I play a 12-string pedal steel in this group with a custom tuning that is very suitable
for playing both honky tonk pedal steel and vintage lap steel sounds.
Pearls Mahone
and
Disregarded Stars
Formerly, I've played with the rockabilly and western swing group Pearls Mahone. I also used to play with
the alt-country group Disregarded Stars. I used to play a 12-string Carter with a custom E9/B6 tuning for these groups.
I've also played and recorded for numerous other groups over the years.
Playing with the Westerlees at McAuliffe's Pub in Racine, WI
Here's my upcoming show schedule if you are interested in seeing me play:
HISTORY
CONSTRUCTION
TUNING
COPEDENTS
LEGEND
NOTATION
BEGINNERS
SCALES
DYADS
CHORDS
COMPOSITION
IMPROV
TECHNIQUES
EXERCISES
CLASSICS
TIMELINE